Understanding and Preparing Yourself for a Pet Euthanasia

Pet euthanasia is probably one of the most difficult decisions humans make in their life. Pets are family to us and some people become attached to their pet more than their own family. For some people, their pet IS their only family that they have. So when that time comes to decide whether or not your pet is enjoying life, it can be a heartbreaking decision. Euthanasia is something that no one wants to face. When we make that decision, some people may believe that it is not fair to their pet to decide whether or not they live any longer.

What you have to remember is that animals are incapable of making decisions and that they can be in as much physical pain as we can. So the questions one needs to ask themselves becomes "Is my pet still enjoying life and doing the things he/she has enjoyed since a puppy? Is my pet still eating and drinking?". When your pet no longer enjoys life and stops eating and drinking, this becomes the point at which you need to base your decision off of. At this point, it is time to let your pet rest peacefully. Granted, it is a difficult decision, but remember that it becomes very selfish to keep your pet in pain just so you can enjoy them longer.

There have been many people that decided to leave their pet alive and in pain just so that they could enjoy them for a few more days. Well, when and how the pet died at home made the owners regret their decision. They rather would have seen their pet pass away peacefully. The process is a very peaceful one and what I usually tell people is that animals are very lucky to have this option, it is unfortunate that humans don't. Humans can be in so much pain, but will have to wait until they pass away on their own.What the process consists of is three steps. The first, is placing an IV catheter so that your pet has as smooth of a process as possible. What an IV catheter allows the veterinarian to do is administer the medication without poking your pet over and over looking for a vein. A lot of times blood pressure is low in older dogs, so placing an IV catheter saves you from watching your pet being poked by a needle more than once and it can be painful for them to go through as well. Your pet will usually take a short trip to the back of the hospital to have the IV catheter placed. Once it is wrapped and secured, your pet will be brought back to the room. The next step is the administration of the first injection. The first injection is basically a pre-anesthetic mix of Ketamine and Valium (most commonly used). This injection will heavily sedate them so that they are unaware what is going on. It is just like they are having an injection for surgery. The second injection is the Pentobarbitol Sodium. This is the injection that will stop the heart. The total time it takes for the process to complete is sometimes less than a minute. At this point, the doctor will confirm that the heart has arrested and that your pet has passed away peacefully. A tough decision to make, but in the end, watching your pet pass away peacefully is worth it over watching them suffer.